The head of the French League for the Protection of Birds, environmentalist and ornithologist Philippe Dubois presents a thoughtful introduction to a year's worth of intriguing birds in this gorgeously illustrated catalog. Full-page color photos (just under 9 x 6 inches) by some of the world's finest avian photographers are accompanied by Dubois's notes and memories of encounters across five continents with such creatures as the Arctic loon, the common teal, the rose-ringed parakeet, and the increasingly hard-to-find Siberian crane. The book provides an English and Latin index.